Voltage Controlled Amplifier, typically a synthesiser module that adjusts the volume of a signal according to its input.
What does a vocoder do software#
Modern hardware vocoders are still being made (such as the Doepfer vocoder synth modules, for example) but the recent trend has been towards software plug-ins which are often more versatile and, of course, much cheaper. Some models from the early 1980s such as the Korg VC-10, and Roland’s VP-330 and the rackmount SCV-350 were much in demand second-hand when the analogue retro scene arrived in the 1990s and some are still in use today. Initially, vocoders were only available as hardware devices. The later release of Cher’s Believe seems to have shepherded in a new era of interest in vocoders and rare now is the ‘vocal artiste’ whose voice has not been processed through one of these devices. Memorable songs featuring a vocoder include Kraftwerk’s We Are The Robots, Laurie Anderson’s O Superman and ELO’s Mr Blue Sky. They were particularly prevalent in the pop and disco culture of the 70s and they keep dropping in and out of fashion like flared trousers. Vocoders have been used in all forms of music. It was, in fact, also used during World War II to scramble telephone conversations between Franklin D. Its original purpose was to improve speech transmission over telephone lines, essentially by reducing content to allow more data to be sent over the line’s limited bandwidth. The vocoder was developed back in the 1930s by Homer Dudley who worked for Bell Labs. Although it was not a vocoder and it worked in an entirely different way, the results were similar and many people assume the result was achieved with a vocoder. It used a device called a Sonovox which was mechanical in nature and worked by pressing two small disks to the performer’s throat. This landmark classic children’s story is still available today. One of the first commercial recordings to feature voice processing was Sparky’s Magic Piano, released by Capitol in 1947. A vocal that sounds in some way different to other vocals will stand out and attract attention to a recording. And talk and dance and mutter and play the drums…Īlthough the human voice is the most versatile and expressive of instruments, in true creative style, musicians still like to change and modify it.
The vocoder is one of the most enduring audio processing effects of all time.
And talk and dance and mutter and play the drums…